A novel bioreactor has been designed to recover microorganisms that are considered to be "unculturable." Greater than 99 percent of microorganisms in nature have never been cultured. Conventional bioreactors do not mimic the natural habitat and therefore fail to exploit the full potential of these exceptional microbes. A Thermal Mat Bioreactor duplicates the environmental conditions and support surface requirements of microorganisms isolated from a thermal mat community. Design considerations include adhesion requirements, flow rate, light cycles and removal of toxic byproducts. Two field samples, containing a mixed population of "unculturable" microorganisms isolated from thermal mat communities will be used as inoculum for the mat bioreactor. A diversity of parameters will be tested for their value in generating novel microorganisms. The unique identity of the organisms will be demonstrated by molecular analysis. A mat bioreactor represents an unlimited opportunity to discover biomolecules that will fill the needs of the medical, pharmaceutical, bioremediation and material science industries. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Novel, "unculturable" microorganisms cultivated by this system will be of commercial value to the biomedical market for anti-tumor and anti-HIV treatments and other pharmaceuticals. The bioreactor itself will be of tremendous value to other industries that develop important biomolecules from exceptional microorganisms.